Jeff Ware Movies
- 2005
A working vacation takes two former lovers into a strange and dangerous place in this offbeat independent thriller. Margaret (Catherine Kellner) is a photographer who has landed an assignment with the federal government to document toxic waste sights along the U.S.-Canadian border. With a long drive ahead of her, Margaret decides she'd like some company, so she asks her former boyfriend Jay (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who doesn't have much else to do, to tag along. Any hopes Jay held for a reconciliation are dashed when Margaret reveals she's engaged to be married, but that soon proves to be the least of his worries. After driving for a few hours, Jay and Margaret keep getting lost and seem to be going in circles, but no matter how far they drive, their gas gauge never changes. As the landscape becomes more puzzling, so do the people they encounter, who seem at once emotionally distant and menacing. But where have argaret and Jay ended up -- and is there any way they can get out? Road was the first feature film from writer and director Leslie McCleave. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Kellner, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, (more)
- 2003
A young Russian model dies while shoplifting at a trendy clothing store, apparently the victim of an overdose of prescription drugs. During their investigation, the detectives cross the path of a controversial and extremely abrasive "Dr. Feelgood" named Ellis Heinz (Jonathan Hogan). But as much as the DA's office would like to send Heinz to prison for his unorthodox drug ministrations, it is just possible that the dead model was the victim of something other than a reckless misdiagnosis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Directed by Raphae Nadjari, Apartment 5C follows several individuals trying to survive within the inner cities of New York. Nicky (Tinkerbell) and Uri (Ori Pfeffer), two Israelis with expired U.S. visas, are making ends meet by robbing local stores at gunpoint. The couple becomes a little overexcited with their gun in their Brooklyn apartment one evening, and Nicky is accidentally shot in the leg. Uri leaves in a panic, never to return. Luckily for Nicky, the building's maintenance person (Richard Epson) takes pity on her, and agrees to care for her while her leg heals. This leads to a relationship between the two; one which Harold's (Epson) wheelchair bound brother-in-law (Jeff Ware) doesn't approve of. Max (Ware) is determined to put a stop to the budding romance, which Nicky and Harold predictably do not take lightly, leading to a violent conclusion for the trio. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tinkerbell, Richard Edson, (more)
- 2001
A man searching for the truth about his brother finds out more than he ever expected to learn in this semi-improvised independent drama. Abe Polonski (Richard Edson) works in his family's textile business alongside his brothers Ben (Jeff Ware) and Josh (Arnold Barkus). One day, Josh is shot to death while leaving the shop with Abe; while Ben warns him to stay out of it, Abe is determined to find out who killed his brother and why. The deeper Abe digs into his brother's life, though, the more unpleasant surprises he finds; it seems that Josh was involved in some serious financial double-dealings, and Jill (Meg Hartig), the woman he had been dating, is a prostitute. Abe talks to Jill, hoping to find out what his brother was trying to do, and he soon finds himself falling in love with her. Abe is determined to save Jill from a life on the streets, but he finds out the hard way that her pimp isn't willing to let her go. I Am Josh Polonski's Brother was shot in 15 days, using Super-8 film stock, and with much of the dialogue improvised on the spot by the cast; the film was the second feature for Raphael Nadjari, who also worked with Richard Edson on his first feature, The Shade. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Edson, Jeff Ware, (more)
- 1998
- NR
The first film of New York-based French director Raphael Nadjari is an adaptation of Dostoyevsky's The Gentle Creature, which had also inspired Une Femme douce of Robert Bresson. The Shade is a drama about a mysterious woman and a pawnbroker who meet in New York. The film begins with Simon, who is alone in his apartment with the corpse of his wife, Anna, who has just committed suicide. In his grief, he remembers the first time he met her, a year ago when she walked into his pawnbroker's shop in Spanish Harlem. Mysterious Anna, who seems to come from nowhere, impresses solitary Simon with her sad beauty, and he proposes to her on their first night out. The Shade is a love story with great psychological insight. 52nd Cannes Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Edson, Lorie Marino, (more)
The plot of Thinner concerns massively overweight lawyer Billy Halleck (Robert John Burke), who is receiving an oral gift from his wife (Lucinda Jenney) while driving down the street one night, when he becomes so carried away that he runs over an old Gypsy woman (Irma St. Paule), killing her. Nobody in town likes the traveling Gypsies much, so Halleck's pals -- a judge and a cop -- cover up the incident. After the cover-up, the dead woman's father, Tadzu Lempke (Michael Constantine), touches Halleck's face and whispers "thinner." Pretty soon, Halleck is losing weight at an incredible rate of more than 40 pounds a week. He tries everything, but learns that Lempke is the only man who can remove the curse. In the meantime, the judge dies of a mysterious skin ailment, and the cop commits suicide. When begging and pleading with Lempke doesn't work, Halleck turns to more drastic methods of persuasion. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert John Burke, Joe Mantegna, (more)
- 1994
There is no shortage of suspects when a high-profile lawyer is murdered. Among the likeliest "candidates" are Willard Tappan (Michael Zaslow), a crooked financier who specializes in fleecing wealthy women, and John Curren (Jonathan Hogan), the now-impoverished son of Tappan's most recent victim. Edie Falco of The Sopranos fame appears as defense attorney Sally Bell, who'd once been "serious" with Assistant D.A. McCoy (Sam Waterston). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this rather routine adaptation of the French hit, The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe, Richard (Tom Hanks) is a bicycling violinist who is innocently drawn into a nasty struggle for control of the CIA. Cooper (Dabney Coleman) is the unscrupulous current head honcho of the notorious U.S. agency, Ross (Charles Durning) is his nemesis, and Maddy (Lori Singer) works for Cooper. After Richard the violinist is forced into the picture, Maddy fights off an attraction to the rather dull man, and complications introduce enough gadgetry to fill a James Bond movie, almost. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Lori Singer, (more)
Arthur Hiller directed this satiric look at contemporary urban high schools, examining disillusioned teachers who try to regain their idealism. Nick Nolte stars as Alex, a teacher at John Fitzgerald Kennedy High School, who was once an idealistic teacher but whose main concern now is sobering up before the next class session. The high school is headed by ineffective principal Mr. Horn (William Schallert) and an imperious vice-principal named Roger (Judd Hirsch). When a recent graduate of the high school sues the school because it graduated him illiterate, Alex finds himself in conflict with the hard-nosed school superintendent Dr. Burke (Lee Grant). The high school heats up even more when Alex falls in love with Lisa (JoBeth Williams), the attractive lawyer who was once one of Alex's honor students. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, JoBeth Williams, (more)
Wolfen, a frightening horror movie based upon a novel by Whitley Strieber, is an absorbing update on the werewolf legend. Detective Dewey Wilson (Albert Finney) is assigned to investigate the strange murder of a millionaire and his wife in a downtown park. Wilson and his friend, city coroner Whittington (Gregory Hines), aided by criminal psychologist Rebecca Neff (Diane Venora) connect the killing to those of several others, primarily winos, drug addicts and derelicts, all of whom seem to have been mutilated by wild animals. Their search leads them to a group of Native Americans led by Edward James Olmos who tell them of a legend of a superior species that once roamed the area, but now are living and hunting in the slums of New York. The film is engrossing, frightening and intelligent, with sensational special effects. Director Michael Wadleigh uses these effects to great advantage, frequently showing the movements of the characters through the eyes of the "Wolfen." This film is also the screen debut of Gregory Hines. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Finney, Diane Venora, (more)
